MONTREAL - The 93-year-old Mount Royal tunnel is safe, according to a new study unveiled by the Agence métropolitaine de transport.
The AMT is now seeking to reassure some 30,000 customers who ride the rails on the Two Mountains commuter train that the five-kilometre tunnel is safe.
The tunnel features several safety features, including a track to ensure that trains can't derail in the tunnel, fire extinguishers and cameras, said AMT president Joel Gauthier.
There are also more than 300 signs showing evacuation routes, as well as sidewalks and rail vehicles to pick up passengers.
AMT employees have also practiced what to do in case of an accident, when through a simulated exercise including evacuations was held last summer, said Gauthier.
"We want to say to our customers, our employees and to the population in general that the tunnel is safe -- and if it was not safe, we would not permit that trains go through the tunnel," he said.
The transit agency also stresses that safety in the tunnel is a non-issue when it comes to the new dual-mode diesel electric locomotives that are set to start running in the tunnel next spring.
Only electric trains are rolling through the Mount Royal tunnel now.
